This invention relates to mechanical wafer handling systems for semiconductor processing equipment.
Mechanical wafer handling systems transport wafers from wafer carriers to processing chambers and vice versa. Various fabrication processes are carried out in processing chambers, including annealing, oxidation, nitridation, etching, and deposition. The wafer handling system might include a robot, an arm operated by the robot, and an implement at the end of the arm to hold the wafer.
Before processing, a wafer may be at room temperature, while in a wafer carrier. During processing, the temperature of a wafer may rise to 1200.degree. C. or higher. Thus, a wafer may be extracted from the chamber while still hot, e.g. 550.degree. C. to 750.degree. C. or higher. Thus, the implement for holding the wafer needs to handle wafers of various temperatures, including hot wafers.